Impact of the Manufacturing Processes of Aromatic-Polymer-Based Carbon Fiber on Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Kaito Sakamoto, Kotaro Kawajiri, Hiroaki Hatori and Kiyotaka Tahara
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Kaito Sakamoto: Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8573, Ibaraki, Japan
Kotaro Kawajiri: Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba 305-8569, Ibaraki, Japan
Hiroaki Hatori: Global Zero Emission Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba 305-8569, Ibaraki, Japan
Kiyotaka Tahara: Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba 305-8569, Ibaraki, Japan

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Carbon fibers (CFs) are promising lightweight materials to reduce vehicle fuel consumption. However, the most widely used polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based CF production process consumes a considerable amount of energy. A novel production process for CFs from aromatic polymers (APs) is proposed as an alternative. In this study, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from PAN-based CFs, from APs using the classical benzidine method, and from APs using the coupling method on a cradle-to-gate basis, were analyzed. The results indicate that the AP CFs with the classical benzidine method generated 11% fewer GHG emissions compared with the conventional PAN CFs. Emissions were further reduced by 42% using a large-tow production process. As the classical benzidine method for manufacturing CFs from APs uses a monomer synthesized via benzidine, which is carcinogenic, we examined a different synthetic route using the coupling method for monomer synthesis to avoid the benzidine intermediate. The GHG emissions from the AP CFs manufactured by the coupling method showed a 51% increase compared with PAN-based CFs, indicating a trade-off between GHG emissions and carcinogenicity. However, with proper chemical management, the classical method of CF manufacturing from APs via benzidine showed reduced GHG emissions.

Keywords: LCA; carbon fiber; GHG; aromatic polymer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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